Diamond wire saws have been used to cut through subsea structures such as fixed platform legs. A prior art diamond wire saw is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,599 to Matteucci. Subsea structures are made of a variety of materials, including metallic and nonmetallic materials. Nonmetallic materials used in subsea structures include various polymer compounds.
A drawback of diamond wire saws is that their diamond wire blades become clogged and thereby lose their cutting efficiency when used to cut certain polymer based materials. An invention comprising a carbide wire blade, of the type disclosed herein maintains its cutting efficiency when used to cut structures having a polymer composition.